The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to operate in secret about surveillance of American citizens whether they are in or out of the United States. The senators would make an exception for national security concerns, but they believe the many opinions will help illuminate what sort of activities the National Security Agency (NSA) has been engaged in under the PATRIOT Act, which became law in 2001 and was reauthorized in 2011.

“There needs to be a balance between Americans’ right to privacy and the government’s responsibility to keep Americans safe,” Senator Franken said Tuesday. “And ensuring that the court overseeing surveillance programs is as transparent as possible is a key step toward reaching that balance. This legislation will help make the process more open to the American people and to the people of Minnesota.”

The head of the NSA, Army general Keith Alexander, told a Senate panel Wednesday, “I do think it’s important that we get this right and I want the American people to know that we’re trying to be transparent here, protect civil liberties and privacy but also the security of this country.” He claimed the secret programs led to “disrupting or contributing to the disruption of terrorist attacks.”

The American Association of Law Libraries, The Constitution Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), CREDO Mobile and OpenTheGovernment.org have also endorsed the bill.